Pages

Monday, March 10, 2014

Playing Catch Up to the March Madness OSR Challenge

A big thank you to Tedankhamen for hosting it and The Other Side Blog for letting me know about it.

1) What was the first roleplaying game other than DnD you played? Champions 4th Edition from Hero Games.

Was it before or after you had played DnD? It was before ADnD 2E.

2) What was the first character you played in an RPG other than DnD? Captain Midnight, he was patterned strongly after Martian Manhunter but was neither Martian nor a telepath.

How was playing it different from playing a DnD character? I hadn't played a DnD character yet, but Champions was all about how to do things and giving you the tools to do them where, ADnD was all about making up the tools as you need them and at the time seemed to have very limited characters, I didn't understand DnD's reliance on niche protection yet.

3) Which game had the least or most enjoyable character generation? I really enjoyed making characters for Heroes Unlimited Revised.

4) What other roleplaying author besides Gygax impressed you with their writing? John Wick. I really enjoyed the work he did on Legend of the Five Rings. It left an impression on me.

5) What other old school game should have become as big as DnD but didn’t? RuneQuest.

Why do you think so? Because Glorantha isn't for everyone and Avalon Hill couldn't make it work without Glorantha.

6) What non-DnD monster do you think is as iconic as DnD ones like hook horrors or flumphs, and why do you think so? Klingons. They're space orcs.

7) What fantasy RPG other than DnD have you enjoyed most? Does 13th Age count? It's an OGL variant of DnD. Otherwise, I'd go with RuneQuest.

Why? Because it let you make the character you wanted to make and it did it in the late '70's.

8) What spy RPG have you enjoyed most? Spycraft 1E.

Give details. I got to playtest it and I enjoyed it, it felt like a strong mix of G.I. Joe and James Bond.

9) What superhero RPG have you enjoyed most? Champions/HERO System.

Why? I cut my teeth on it. I learned its language and can still bust out a character in under 15 minutes. It gives you tools, though increasingly complex ones, to make whatever you can imagine.

10) What science fiction RPG have you enjoyed most? D6 Star Wars.

Give details. I love Star Wars and I think the d6 system captured quite a bit of the setting's charm. While it may not have worked great for full Jedi, it captured Episodes 4, 5, and 6 perfectly.